Recap: Try Something New Tuesday 181

Recap: Try Something New Tuesday 181

Hello hello friends!

Are you having a good week so far? I can’t complain about mine, although now that the clocks have been turned back, it seems to be getting dark outside way too fast after work! This makes it hard for any sort of half decent blog photography during the week so I’m anticipating a day of cooking at some point this weekend. (And I’m excited for it too, because I’ve got some new recipe creations developing in my head!) Speaking of recipes…

1. Recipe of the Week.Alright, I know I’ve been serving up soups and stews galore lately, and I promise to switch things up next week but this one just haaaas to be shared.

At Thanksgiving, I always like to ensure that we buy a turkey big enough to supply plenty of leftovers. This year was no exception, and since it was just my mum and I, what we didn’t have for Thanksgiving dinner was split between the two of us. She prefers the dark meat while I’m a fan of the white, so there was no arguing over who got what. In addition to a few turkey salads (dressed with homemade cranberry chutney), I also had enough to stir up a batch of White Bean, Turkey and Kale Soup.

This one provides a double-punch of protein (turkey + beans = satisfied for hours) and a big serving of veggies too. Of course, if you’re not a turkey eater, just swap in some more beans for the meat and you’ll be all set.

2. Baby Eggplant. I found these cute little things on the weekend at David’s Gourmet, and because I’m a nerd when it comes to produce, just had to try them to see if they tasted any different to regular eggplants (or aubergines, depending on where you’re from).

After a quick Google to find out more about them, I learned that there are many more baby eggplant species than I thought. After scrolling through some Google Images, I managed to find one that matched my eggplants and clicked through to learn that this is known as the ‘Aubergine Striped Toga‘.

When I spoke to the employee who was working in the produce section, I asked what the best way to prepare these little guys is. He said that they’re quite firm on the inside with a tough skin, so the best thing to do is sautee them lightly in some oil until they soften up. He suggested not pairing them with anything too strong in order to actually be able to taste them.

I took his advice and tossed my baby eggplants in my skillet with some olive oil, garlic, sea salt, black pepper, and a sprinkle of fresh parsley. They turned out like this:

(If you’re thinking they look the same as they did raw, you’d be correct.) Although the eggplants smelled good and kept their bright colour, the taste wasn’t very pleasant. There were lots of seeds inside which I found annoying, and the flesh seemed quite bitter. I tried adding them back to the pan and cooking for a little longer, which helped, but they still didn’t taste fantastic.

In the end, I altered my dinner menu and ended up dousing the eggplants along with a whole bunch of other veggies and some chopped cooked chicken breast pieces with balsamic vinegar and more herbs. Balsamic vinegar and herbs make pretty much everything taste better, and it didn’t fail me on this occasion. Overall, the eggplants looked cool on the outside, but their taste wasn’t anything to write home about and I don’t think I’d buy this type again.

Alright, that’s all! Before I let you go…

Have you tried any new-to-you produce lately? Were you impressed or disappointed?

What’s your favourite way to enjoy leftover turkey?

Just a heads up that my monthly newsletter will be going out tomorrow morning and if you’re not on the list yet, you can sign up here. It’s totally free, and this month we’re talking about authenticity, no-equipment workouts, and curry!

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My name is Angela and I've got a fiery passion for turning fresh, healthy ingredients into delicious mouth-watering meals. I love watermelon, green smoothies, and running around Vancouver, the city I'm proud to call home.

My FAVORITE way to use leftover turkey is in a salad with some type of mixed greens, romaine, and roasted butternut squash. YUM! It tastes like a Thanksgiving salad:) I love roasted turkey and only eat it at Thanksgiving since I’m vegetarian most of the year. By the way, I’ve been dealing with the same spinach issues as you and wanted to ask if kale has been giving you the same issues, because it has me! I love my greens and am running out of ideas:( Thanks for all your great posts! Love your blog<3

Hi Heather! I agree with you – Thanksgiving salads are awesome! Regarding the kale, I’ve actually decreased the amount that I’ve been eating and added more romaine and mesclun mix. Collard greens and Swiss chard also seem to be ok. (Swiss chard is a little lighter than collards, so if you need a raw option, I’d pick chard over collards.) When I’ve been eating kale, it’s been in smaller amounts (for smoothies, I tend to make them with 1/3 kale and 2/3 romaine, which makes the taste far less strong than if you were to use kale alone.) One other consideration – have you tried to have it cooked rather than raw? I’ve been doing a ton of experimenting with this lately (the post I have coming up about it is going to be a monster!) but I seem to be doing much better with cooked veggies. My naturopath also noticed that I have slight hypothyroidism (according to my last blood test anyway), so I’ve been making an effort to cook foods that are high in goitrogens (broccoli, kale, cruciferous veg) which helps to break down the goitrogens and reduce their effects. I’m not sure if this is an issue for you too, but I have been feeling SO much better this week. Hope that helps, and thanks so much for your comment!

Ooh baby zucchini sound good! I’ll have to look out for those. You might be a little disappointed by the seeds in the eggplant, but just make sure you cook them really well if you do decide to buy any!

I love that you’re so honest about your eggplant experience! I’m sticking to good old regular eggplant tonight for dinner and making a dairy free eggplant parm. I may have to make some of this awesome soup for a side dish though!

That sounds delicious Brandy! I hope you enjoy the soup too. Now I want to celebrate Thanksgiving all over again just to get more turkey leftovers! Maybe I’ll celebrate the American one this month as well!? 😉

Hi Jacqueline! Sorry for the delay – this one got buried in a bunch of other comments! For the turkey, yes, I did get a whole bird. It was leftover meat from our Thanksgiving (which was in October) that I made a few days later. You could totally just do it with turkey breasts if you can find them. I’ve seen them at Sobeys occasionally, so maybe check there? Hope that helps!